Nhs

[suityou01]

My Grandfather is in hospital and has been since Friday morning. He is 93. Normally fit and active, not on any medication, really good for his age. He lives with my mother and father (who are in their 70s). My mother was beside herself on Friday as she had been up with him all night, he had a 'funny turn'. She cited slurred speech and bewilderment.

I sat with them in A&E observation ward all day Friday, he had a fever and a water infection. I must admit I was getting pretty ticked off that they had identified a high fever and yet took 5.5 hrs to do blood tests, and only then did they give him paracetamol so bring the temperature down. It made sense they had to do the blood tests first, but Gordon has really ****ed the NHS if it takes them 5.5 hrs to take some blood FFS.

The fever came down, and we visited him yesterday. He was back to his old self. One of the things they had mentioned was TIA (mini stroke, usually a precursor to a big stroke), yet they have not diagnosed this.

To be fair, no one has really discussed with us what is wrong, what they are doing to treat it. I don't like to make a fuss, especially as he seemed on the mend.

This morning my mother is on the phone telling me that she has spoken to him and we are back to square one, his speech is slurred and he does not know where he is. Truly heartbreaking. And the hospital won't discuss it over the phone (let alone answer the fraking thing).

So I have no idea why I am posting this, other than solidifying my thoughts, and hoping that someone on here may have a partner who has training in this field that can advise.

Top questions are

1) If it is a TIA, what should the hospital be doing? CT scan / Statins / Aspirin?
2) Seeing as he is confused, should they be keeping us informed as well.
3) What guidance / counselling should they be offering my mother as she is frightened at the prospect of having a bewildered and often abusive elderly father getting up in the middle of the night and turning on ovens and grills and burning the place down.

I just feel that they (the hospital staff) have a pretty slack attitude to old people, almost like when an elderly car fails an MOT. TBH it pisses me right off as there are family here including 3 great grandsons that would like to see him getting proper attention.

[Ardesco]

Unfortunately care for OAP's limited simply because of their age. My Grandmother died of lung cancer at the age of 84, she went from a woman who would do a two mile walk up and down a steep hill every day to go shopping and carry it all back by herself to somebody who could not even walk up the stairs without running out of breath in the space of 6 weeks.

The sum of medical care she received was stronger and stronger pain killers until they were causing her hallucinations until she died and on her death certificate is was recorded as natural causes. I cared for her at the end and was constantly frustrated, but the one line that I kept hear was:

Well she's had a good old run, there's no point in doing anything else for her now.

After my experience I have no desire to grow old in this country.

[Board Game Geek]

My Grandfather is in hospital and has been since Friday morning. He is 93. Normally fit and active, not on any medication, really good for his age. He lives with my mother and father (who are in their 70s). My mother was beside herself on Friday as she had been up with him all night, he had a 'funny turn'. She cited slurred speech and bewilderment.

I sat with them in A&E observation ward all day Friday, he had a fever and a water infection. I must admit I was getting pretty ticked off that they had identified a high fever and yet took 5.5 hrs to do blood tests, and only then did they give him paracetamol so bring the temperature down. It made sense they had to do the blood tests first, but Gordon has really ****ed the NHS if it takes them 5.5 hrs to take some blood FFS.

The fever came down, and we visited him yesterday. He was back to his old self. One of the things they had mentioned was TIA (mini stroke, usually a precursor to a big stroke), yet they have not diagnosed this.

To be fair, no one has really discussed with us what is wrong, what they are doing to treat it. I don't like to make a fuss, especially as he seemed on the mend.

This morning my mother is on the phone telling me that she has spoken to him and we are back to square one, his speech is slurred and he does not know where he is. Truly heartbreaking. And the hospital won't discuss it over the phone (let alone answer the fraking thing).

So I have no idea why I am posting this, other than solidifying my thoughts, and hoping that someone on here may have a partner who has training in this field that can advise.

Top questions are

1) If it is a TIA, what should the hospital be doing? CT scan / Statins / Aspirin?
2) Seeing as he is confused, should they be keeping us informed as well.
3) What guidance / counselling should they be offering my mother as she is frightened at the prospect of having a bewildered and often abusive elderly father getting up in the middle of the night and turning on ovens and grills and burning the place down.

I just feel that they (the hospital staff) have a pretty slack attitude to old people, almost like when an elderly car fails an MOT. TBH it pisses me right off as there are family here including 3 great grandsons that would like to see him getting proper attention.

How frightening for you all involved and you have my sympathies.

IANAD, but it is common after a suspected TIA to:

Check the patient's blood pressure to make sure it's within normal range
Order a carotid ultrasound to see whether the carotid artery is blocked
Test for atrial fibrillation, a condition that can cause blood clots to form in the heart
Schedule a CT or MRI scan to look for brain injury
Check for heart disease
Check blood pressure and cholesterol levels

I suspect that things are moving slowly, since it is the weekend, and the specialists may not be there ?

Or if they are, they are under-resourced and trying to cope with a backlog ?

The only other reason I can think of doesn't bear thinking about.

I wish him well.

[suityou01]

How frightening for you all involved and you have my sympathies.

IANAD, but it is common after a suspected TIA to:

Check the patient's blood pressure to make sure it's within normal range
Order a carotid ultrasound to see whether the carotid artery is blocked
Test for atrial fibrillation, a condition that can cause blood clots to form in the heart
Schedule a CT or MRI scan to look for brain injury
Check for heart disease
Check blood pressure and cholesterol levels

I suspect that things are moving slowly, since it is the weekend, and the specialists may not be there ?

Or if they are, they are under-resourced and trying to cope with a backlog ?

The only other reason I can think of doesn't bear thinking about.

I wish him well.

Yes that appears to be the case. Mum has got through to the ward sister, and the consultant is doing his rounds tomorrow. You don't want to get sick on a weekend. Thanks Gordon.

He has BP check, blood tests for cholesterol and diabetes. I did ask on Friday if they could check for blood viscosity / clotting / platelets or whatever and they said no, TIAs are notoriously difficult to diagnose.

Since going on google and becoming a pub expert I can see that the carotid scans and stuff you mention is exactly what they SHOULD be doing, but I suspect Ardesco is right, you don't want to get old in this country. Unless of course you are a member of the Royal family or ex PM then you would get the very best care.

Very bitter about the whole thing this morning. Thanks for your posts. Not much more to say on this one.

[mudskipper]

Sorry to hear about your grandad. My mum had a suspected TIA about 2 years ago - also seemed to be in hospital for a long time with not a lot happening. I think TIAs are generally diagnosed from symptoms - the difference between a TIA and a stroke is that the TIA does not cause permanent damage, so the scans and things that identify stroke damage don't help. She also had an infection, so in hindsight I do wonder if it was a TIA, or whether just a side effect of the infection. She was disoriented and had slurred speech like your grandad, but thankfully made a full recovery and has been fine ever since. I believe she does take aspirin every day - not sure how much.

There does seem to be a lack of co-ordination in hospitals, and sometimes you do need to make a fuss (politely!) to get things to happen. As family, you should certainly be able to get info on the phone - ask to speak to the ward sister and get a commitment from her that she will personally find out what's going on and keep you informed.

Hope grandad gets well soon.

[RichardCranium]

To be fair, no one has really discussed with us what is wrong, what they are doing to treat it.

Where have I heard that before, once or twice, or a hundred times.

My family and my wife's family have independently come to the conclusion that when a pensioner is in hospital...

I don't like to make a fuss, especially as he seemed on the mend.

... making a fuss the the absolute correct thing to do. Ask lots of questions about what they have done, what they intend to do, why they intend to do it, when they intend to do it, what results they anticipate and what they intend to do when they have the results. Do not be afraid of taking notes either.

All that information should be readily at hand for every hospital patient at all times; there is no excuse for it not to be.

These people are paid a lot of money and somebody's life is at stake. You wouldn't trust the garage to do a full service on an old banger without asking questions. Act like a user and be a nuisance ... with hindsight I wish I had.

[jmo21]

that sucks, sorry to hear SuitsYou01

Is it difficult for your mum to get to the hospital, or is just because it is outside visiting hours?

Do you live nearby?

[suityou01]

that sucks, sorry to hear SuitsYou01

Is it difficult for your mum to get to the hospital, or is just because it is outside visiting hours?

Do you live nearby?

No we are fortunate that we both live nearby the hospital. SY02 is talking about taking on some of the visiting duties as well. The only thing that is difficult for Mum is that she has a slipped disc in her back so getting in and out of cars is something that she does not like doing. That said, the exercise may do her good.

I await an update this afternoon. I shall feedback RC's end user advice to Mum as the consultant is back in tomorrow. Perhaps I can furnish her with a list of questions to print out.

In all honesty I do feel they are letting us down, and more prompt action could have been taken. Just how can you ask an old man to keep his mini strokes to a minimum over the weekend until the consultant comes back in on Monday. ******* joke if you ask me.

[Platypus]

You don't want to get sick on a weekend. Thanks Gordon.

It's always been that way, even under the Tories.

[Zippy]

Sorry to hear about your Grandfather SY01. Keep asking questions, if you look like you'll cause trouble you'll get more response.
I have some experience of older people and the NHS but I got the impression that when the consultant is not around they are all too scared to do very much. The chain of command seems to be more strictly observed than it would be in the army so yes, this would have (and did) happen under the Tories.
Hope he improves soon.